Return of the Alpha, Threat of the Omega
by Ramona Bandicoot
Summary: When old enemies team up to bring him down, Sly Cooper realizes he's come face to face with his worst fears. With an old flame darting around, a deadly plot, and the return of members from both the Fiendish Five and the Klaww Gang, Sly must stop them from bringing about the return of his greatest enemy, and keep them from taking away those closest to him.
1. Chapter 1: Big Bad Voodoo Mama

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions/Sanzaru Games.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_Well, I've started another story. This first chapter is a little short, but it's a bit of a tease. This should be a long story so it'll take a little while to complete, but I'll get it done eventually, even if it takes a while. But that's it for now. So please read, review, and let me know what you think of this so far! Thanks!_

Metallic Memories

Chapter 1: Big Bad Voodoo Mama

Haitian Jungle, July 23

11:57 P.M.

The Boss

The overpowering aroma of horribly scented candles, decaying swamp matter, decomposing bodies in the local cemetery, and the rather strong odor of the alligator sitting in front of me were enough to make me cough and gag at a quite often frequency. The darkened room creaked with each step either one of us took and the fact this wooden hut was sitting over a murky, stinking swamp didn't improve my attitude about this ordeal. I'd waited in this disgusting shack for hours, waiting for this voodoo priestess to fulfill my orders, and so far had only been nearly eaten alive by mosquitoes and have had my patience worn unbearably thin.

"You'd better not be wasting my time, woman." The alligator simply chuckled as she ran her long, ruby red fingernails over a pile of shells, small animal skulls, and more of her odor filled candles.

"My dear," she said after he laughs died away, "this process is a very delicate one. One simple mistake and we can have a full undead uprising on our hands. Bringing a body back from the dead is a simple ordeal; I've done it since I was just a little hatchling. However, bringing one back _without _a body is about as easy as trying to pull a nearly perfect diamond out of swamp water."

"You can do it, can't you?" I asked, leaning over the table to stare down the large gator.

"Of course I can," she said standing up, "if you stop breathing down my neck." She chuckled again, waddling to a back room hidden behind a moth eaten curtain. It had better work after what I'd done to put everything together and get down here. I walked from the table and looked around the small shack Mz. Ruby lived in. A rather simple dwelling, but absolutely horrid smell and look. I observed the small jars she had scattered all over the place. Some had roots and other herbs in them, some had strange colored liquids and powders, and some had assorted body parts; such as eyes, tongues, and even one of what appeared to be claws.

"Now why is it you would need me to do this task for you? You don't seem to be the type to summon the undead." Ruby called from her backroom.

"You're right. This is out of my usual realm of expertise, but I have a bit of a…vendetta…against someone." She cackled from her room, finding my mission amusing.

"So you're bringing back a dead person? This must be a rather important person?" I sighed in annoyance, not really wanting to talk about my business to an alligator.

"Do you happen to know Sly Cooper, my scaly friend?" I heard Mz. Ruby gasp followed by a clanking and the squeaking of the floorboards. The voodoo priestess poked her head from behind the curtain, a needle and dismembered arm in her grasp.

"Sly Cooper?" she repeated, "I happen to have a little grudge against him myself. How do you know him?" I looked from the dangling arm to the wide smile of the alligator and shook my head.

"It's a rather long story to tell, Ruby. Don't want to distract you from your task.

Mz. Ruby returned to her workspace behind the counter and I continued looking around the hut. Sly Cooper…how I absolutely hated that man. Smug. Arrogant. Incapable of doing anything by himself. Incredibly stupid, despite his family history. Constantly bouncing from one woman to another and never caring who seems to get hurt, even his own friends. He needed to be stopped and I intended to do this myself. I just needed a bit of help from a voodoo master and a currently deceased woman. I could hear Ruby chanting in her small room, in a language that was foreign to me, but I was glad she was finally getting around to what I'd asked her to do. If this was successful, then I would have someone I could trust on my side and I can put my full plan into action. She waddled out of her back room a few minutes later.

"Well…did it work?" I asked, almost impatiently. She nodded, seating herself at her table and motioned for me to sit across from her. I sat and crossed my arms over my chest with a huff, waiting for an answer.

"Just give it some time, you'll see. Now, before I give you your little friend, we need to make a deal with ourselves. You have a little grudge against our old friend Sly Cooper, correct?" I nodded, wondering where she was headed with this, "I'm here to make a little deal with you. If you let me take part of your little scheme against, Mr. Cooper, I won't charge you for my services. Now, as a warning, I do charge pretty hefty prices." She motioned to a shelf of shrunken heads by the door. I gulped slightly, feeling I'd maybe gone a bit too far, but it was worth it.

"So I give you a part in my plan, and I'm not charged?" she nodded, leaning back in her chair, with a smug look on her face.

"Deal," I said, leaning forward to shake on our deal, "only if this is a success." She shook my paw with the same smug on and glanced to her back room.

"Come." She barked. From the room she'd been working in I heard a groan, similar sounding to one of a person with a severe hangover. After a bit of staggering and foul language, a seemingly drunk female stumbled out of the room, half dressed and stitched up in a few places. She woman leaned against the wall, using her paw to brush her jet black hair from her face. She looked to us, seemingly groggy and rather upset.

"I do believe I don't know either of you," she growled as she staggered forward, her accent slightly slurred, "and I don't particularly care for strangers."

"From your track record, I can tell. But my friend and I here have brought you here to ask for a…favor of sorts." I said.

"A favor? What's in it for me?" she staggered to one of the open chair at the table, her chin resting on her paw, "I'm not a very charitable person."

"In it for you?" I chuckled, sliding a picture towards her, "If you help us, them you can enact revenge on your most…favorite…person." She glanced to the picture, running a finger along a stitch before her lips curled into a devilish smile.

"Any kind of revenge?" I nodded, a similar smile forming on my lips as well, "Then you've got yourself a deal." She extended a paw to my own and shook. Sly Cooper was about to experience his worst nightmare…again.


	2. Chapter 2: Shadows Against the Moonlight

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions/Sanzaru Games.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_I meant to mention this last chapter, but this will be a change of perspective story. I've written one like this in the past, and it got a little confusing, so I've decided to put the name of who's narrating the chapters. But this is chapter two! A little longer than the first one, but they will get longer as the story gets rolling. So, with that being the only thing I needed to get out, I hope you read, review, and leave me some feedback on how I'm doing so far! Thanks!_

Chapter 2: Shadows Against the Moonlight

Paris, France, July 26

10:34 P.M.

Sly Cooper

"Talk to me, Bentley," I huffed into my communicator as I darted down the streets of the city, "I can't find them." I quickly turned a corner and started climbing up the closest building. I hoisted myself to the top and pulled out my binoccucom. I quickly scanned the area, looking for any sign of the other thieves or at least a lead on where they were.

"Two streets back, headed south towards the town center." Bentley said after a quick pause. I turned to where my teammate had directed me and managed to catch a glimpse of one of the other members before they disappeared behind another building.

"Thanks, pal." I slipped my binoccucom back in my pack and headed off in that direction. It certainly wasn't anything new for use to be on the tails of the Bandicoot thieves, but considering this was the fifteenth time this month they'd managed to out-steal us, we considered it vital to get back what they'd managed to slip past us. Sprinting down the street, I caught another glimpse of the raccoon. I quickly redirected my path to chase behind the one.

By the time I rounded the corner, I realized it was only one there instead of the whole group; and it was my favorite member. Ramona Bandicoot darted quickly around corners, barely making a sound as she did. I followed behind her silently, trying to sneak up on the thief and steal back the Ming Dynasty vase I'd set out to steal in the first place. That particular vase was worth a pretty penny and I'd be dammed if I let another expensive artifact slip away from me…again. Keeping a reasonable distance from her, I tailed Ramona around the city as silently as a shadow. After past experiences I've learned not to alert her to my presence; otherwise she'd speed up and I wouldn't be able to catch her. She didn't look like it, but the woman was unreasonably fast. I'd lost count the number of times she's outrun me and remained completely undetected from police.

A bright half moon shone brightly in the sky, giving the streets some lighting; making it easier to both see where I was and see where the raccoon was running. She leapt silently to a building, climbing up swiftly and easily. I followed in suit and climbed the building myself to meet her. Ramona had a tendency to stick to rooftops and away from the streets, unless it was an alley. Given her athletic abilities, leaping from rooftop to rooftop was a simple task for her and most of the time she remained unseen, even from Bentley's surveillance choppers. I crawled over the ledge, grouching down to stay out of her line of sight. She was stopped along the opposing edge of the building, looking out over the city with a finger to her ear. She was speaking softly, more than likely to her brother or sister, and I saw this as my chance to strike. I crept slowly and stealthily behind her, my cane out beside me, waiting to slip into her satchel and snatch the vase. I held my breath as the tip of my cane slipped underneath the top flap of the bag. I eased it in slightly until I felt the edge of the cane touch the rim of the vase. However, before I could make another move, Ramona snapped her paw and latched onto my cane with a rather large smile across her face.

"Not today, Cooper!" she giggled lightly and flicked my cane out of her bag. I stood, half smiling as well, and twirled my cane in my paw.

"Now Mademoiselle," I cooed to her as she flattened the flap on her bag, "I see it only fair that I claim this artifact…considering I've given you the last fourteen." The younger female barked a laugh with a slight snort and simply shook her head.

"_Gave_ them to you? Please. We've out done you for the past month. It's only fair if you can manage to get this satchel," she pulled her bag from her shoulders and held it up, "before I get home." she walked closer to her edge, a signal to me that she was ready to run, and I took a couple steps towards her, ready to be on her tail the moment the jumped.

"Maybe I've just been giving you benefit of the doubt, my dear," I said with as I stepped closer to her again, standing a few feet from her, "After all, pretty ladies such as yourself do make it easy to give valuable gifts to." She rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Flattery won't get you this bag, Cooper." She said softly, gripping the strap firmly in her paw.

"Can't a man compliment his, possible, girlfriend on a lovely evening?" I said with a bit of confusion. It was true that Ramona would often spend the night together, but the status of that was still questionable. I wasn't sure if we were dating or simply friends with benefits.

"Oh he can," she said with a smile and a small saunter forward, "just not when he's trying to steal from her."

"Well if I do manage to outsmart you, Mademoiselle, am I still invited to spend the night?" she shrugged playfully.

"I suppose, only if you're on time for dinner, that is." I chuckled, leaning in towards her.

"I think I can deal with that." She snorted again with another roll of her eyes. I closed the gap between us and kissed her softly. After a moment or two, my palm slid down her arm, towards her satchel. Ramona was unfortunately too smart for that trick and caught on almost immediately. Before I could pull away, she tossed the bag over the edge of the building. I swiftly ended our kiss and looked to where she'd tossed it, expecting to see a shattered vase all over the street. I should have known better, however. By the time I was leaning over the building, I realized that it was a plan. Her older brother, who was probably communicating with her when I first reached the top of the building, had grabbed the bag once she had thrown it and was already setting off down the street.

"You really are some, Ramona." I said as I started to look back to the female. Ramona, however, was long gone without a trace or sound.

"Murray," I said into my in-ear communicator, "I've got one heading your way with the vase. Think you can get him?" I started to head back down to the street, hoping I could catch up with the second raccoon of the team.

"Don't worry, Sly, no one is a match for "The Murray"!" I chuckled to myself. Murray was one of my best pals, but he could certainly be over excited at times. I sprinted down the streets to see if I could meet up with Murray. Sitka Bandicoot was Ramona's older brother, and the eldest in the family, and was the over protective type. He and I generally didn't see eye-to-eye on most things and the fact I was regularly sleeping with his sister didn't help. In terms of their thieving team, Sitka was generally the brawn of the group, much like Murray was with us. He wasn't as strong as Murray, but the guy had enough muscles to get most jobs done and beat sense into anyone he figured was lacking it. Rounding yet another corner, I finally caught up to Murray. Murray was running as fast as he could in the direction of our hideout. He'd managed to take Ramona's brother by surprise and had the satchel in hand.

"Great work, big guy." I said happily to the hippo as I caught up with him. He smiled, too out of breath to speak, and we sprinted down the road. We weren't being followed so we could only assume they had either given up or were regrouping somewhere else.

"Hey, Bentley," I panted as I ran, "we have the vase and we'll meet you at the hideout soon." Bentley had stayed at the hideout on this mission so he could keep on eye on where the Bandicoot's were at any given time.

"Hey, Sly," Murray managed to gasp out as we were halfway home, "have you ever realized that they have the same sort of set up as we do? I mean, we both have the main thieves, which would be you and Ramona. We bother have the tough guys, so me and their brother. And then both Bentley and Charlotte are the brains." Charlotte Fox was the third and final member of their team. She, like her brother, is older than Ramona. Charlotte was vastly different from her siblings though. Aside from being an actual fox and having a different last name, she was both incredibly smart and incredibly clumsy. She was usually tripping over thing, running into corners, colliding with people, or simply getting turned around in a museum. Her lack of physical skills were greatly made up for in her brain power however. She could easily challenge the minds of some of the greatest scientists around and the mind of Bentley.

It had only been a few minutes of thinking about the klutzy fox when Murray and I had a run in with her. Literally. As we passed a street corner, I was hit from the side from a sprinting Charlotte. Not paying attention to where she was running, she ended up colliding with us. With her speed combined with ours, we ended up falling over each other in a pile in the street. The satchel with the vase in it was slung a few feet in front of me, but thankfully didn't break. The same couldn't be said for Charlotte's glasses; which had been smashed to pieces by Murray's massive hand. I took her broken glasses and handed them to her as she patted the ground trying to feel for them.

"Thanks," she said as she took them from me, "and sorry for that hit. I wasn't really paying attention." Charlotte greatly resembled one of their other sisters; the infamous Inspector Carmelita Fox. In fact, despite Carmelita being the twin of Ramona, she was a spitting image of her older sister. Only major differences were that Charlotte was a little taller, had much shorter hair and was a bit dumpier than the police officer.

"Don't worry about it," I told her as a placed my hat back on my head and grabbed my cane. I noticed the satchel lying on the ground a few feet ahead. I reached forward, ready to grab it back, when I noticed a nimble shadow leap over me.

"And thank _you_, Mr. Cooper!" Ramona's overly happy voice piped up suddenly as she landed in front of me from her leap. She quickly snatched up her bah, turned to me briefly, winked once, and bolted off down the street. Seconds later her brother did the same only grapping hold of her sister when he landed. He led the legally blind fox in the same direction as their light footed sister.

"You can head on home, Murray," I groan as we stood and the realization finally sunk in that we still lost the vase, "I'll be there later on." With a quick slap to my back, Murray gave me a smile goodnight and he trotted off towards our hideout. I stretched, groaned again, and dusted off my shirt. I strolled casually down the street, enjoying the warm summer air. I glanced up, looking at the moon, to see where the bright light was; giving me some kind of judgment on what time it was. I assumed it was a little past midnight. I was about to head to Ramona's apartment when something caught my eye. I quickly darted to a dark alley way and returned my sights to where I was just looking. I pulled out my binoccucom and set it to the camera. I zoomed in to the shadow high up on a roof of a building a little ways away. The shadow appeared to be of a woman. She was hooded, thin, a bit lanky, and strangely familiar. I quickly snapped a photo and put away the device.

"It's late," I whispered to myself, "it couldn't have been…_her_."


	3. Chapter 3: Nightmares

**Disclaimer:** I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions/Sanzaru Games.

**Claimer:** I own all of my original characters.

_Chapter three! So, without much to say for this chapter, I just hope you read, review, and let me know what you think! Thanks!_

Chapter 3: Nightmares

Paris, France, July 27

12:19 A.M.

Sly Cooper

With a soft grunt I hoisted myself up to the now familiar balcony of a small, one bedroom apartment. With little effort I slid open the glass door and stepped inside the cool, brightly light living room, catching a whiff of shower soap and overly priced perfume. Shutting the door softly behind me, I tossed my cane, hat, and bag into the nearby chair before slumping onto the couch, sighing in relief in the process. I was exhausted and ready to get into bed and have a long rest, but the image of the shadowy female was burned in my mind. She was so familiar, so real even though I knew it couldn't be true, and so capable of inflicting fear in me without a single word or glance in my direction. I tried to ignore it as I made my way here, but I just couldn't.

Humming from the next room broke my thoughts and snapped me back into reality. I rotated my head, turning to the direction of the bathroom to see my favorite rival coming out of it and completely distracted. It'd become a routine that I stay at her apartment on the weekends and more often than not stayed a good bit of the week as well. The nights I didn't stay over and during the day I was home with my best friends, Bentley and Murray, but these were always my favorite nights. Despite the fact we were complete rivals in the field, Ramona and I were a pair when we weren't working. She walked down her small hallway, her nose pointed to the ground as she concentrated on pulling her incredibly long, jet black hair up onto the top of her head.

"Hot, Mademoiselle?" I asked with a smirk. Ramona jumped with a light shriek as she realized I'd already snuck in. After catching her breath, she chuckled and nodded.

"Of course," she said while she joined me on the couch, "it's unbearably hot lately and having fur certainly doesn't help." She stretched, bringing her arms over her head as she settled onto the couch. Ramona wasn't a major fan of hot weather and often suffered through summer in a pair of shorts and the skimpiest shirt or tank top she could find; not that I minded of course. I leaned into her plush couch as well and closed my eyes, the thought of the shadowy woman returning to my thoughts. It wasn't long before out silence was broken and the woman faded from my thoughts.

"So I got a new vase today." Ramona mentioned with a nudge of my arm and a smile. I glanced down to her and smirked.

"Only because you used your sister as a decoy." She shook her head, smiling as she did so.

"No, that was just a fateful coincidence. But I'll certainly consider it later." And nudged my side with her elbow and broke out in a quick series of laughs.

"So now I guess you think you're the better thief?" I nudged her back and she shook her head, her smile fading.

"That's still you, Sly. You've stolen a lot more than me and have done it a lot longer. You just seem like something's been on your mind lately; something that's taking your mind off thieving." She rested her chin on my chest, looking up to me.

"What's been on your mind?" she spoke softly in a combination of both exhaustion and concern.

"I don't know really," I sighed as I quickly went through my recent thoughts, "it's just been one of those times where your gut tells you something's wrong; like something's going to happen. Only thing is that it's been almost a month and nothing's happened. Maybe it's just nerves. I don't know." her eyebrows furred at my reply, apparently not finding it to her liking.

"Well I figured that, but _what_ has made you think those things?"

"Just…a bad feeling, I guess. And lots of recent bad dreams certainly don't make it better." For about a month I've woken up in a cold sweat because of some kind of bad dream or nightmare almost every night.

"Same one as usual?" Ramona was very well aware of my dreams. She had shaken me away countless times, trying to pull me from my state of deep sleep panic.

"Yeah, it's the same one. It's always Clockwerk. He's always above me, coming down towards me with his talons ready. I can see the hatred in his eyes and something on his beak, blood probably. But instead of taking me, I see him taking Bentley and Murray. I see him taking you. Then I'm left alone with the threat of my greatest enemy always there. And that's almost happened in the past, and I'm afraid that it's going to happen again."

"Don't think like that," She said quietly, "Don't think like that. We won't let that happen, I promise." I kissed her forehead and tried to relax for the evening. I decided to refrain from telling Ramona about the female I'd seen this evening. I didn't want to worry her more than need be before I was sure on who it was.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked her with a nudge to make sure she was awake.

"You just did, but I guess you could ask another." She smirked playfully and waited for my question.

"I don't want to freak you out or worry you," I said as I glanced down to her, "but _if_ something did go wrong and you somehow ended up in a horribly dangerous situation, do you have somewhere you can go? Basically somewhere you can go into hiding." She looked up to me, thinking as she did so. She eventually came to a conclusion and nodded slowly.

"I do. I have a safe place, but what's making you think I'm going to need one?" I shrugged, not knowing really what the answer was. She sighed, quickly dropping the subject and curled against me, finally relaxing. I wrapped an arm around her and once again my mind returned to the woman. I wasn't completely sure it was her, so I wasn't going to start planning a full-fledged attack against her, but I did want to be prepared. I had a feeling we were going to be in trouble sometime soon.

My friends needed protection; Ramona needed protection, and pretty much everyone else I cared for. If this woman turned out to be an enemy, then I was determined to protect those I love. Given everything that's happened to both my gang and Ramona's, I didn't want to risk hurting them anymore than they had in the past. Because of me, Bentley was paralyzed, confined to a wheelchair, Murray had spiraled into a depression and left the gang at one point in time, and Ramona had been dragged through so many ordeals in the short time that we've reconnected that I was surprised she even let me around her. Ramona shifted suddenly, sitting up slowly and stretching with a yawn. With a low groan she stood, patted my cheek with her palm and trudged to bed. I chuckled, watching until she entered the bedroom, and followed her.

Before doing so, however, I made sure the glass door was locked. As I clicked the lock down, I scanned the skyline just to ease my nerves. What I saw though didn't help. I caught a glimpse of the same shadow quickly leap off the roof she was on and disappear as soon as I'd noticed her. I felt my chest tighten and I quickly whipped the curtains shut, hoping she was facing the other way. I inhaled deeply, gathering my nerves so I wouldn't make Ramona suspicious, and clicked the lights off in the living room. I turned the corner into her bedroom and shut the door behind me, ready to quickly end this night with a well deserved sleep. Ramona had already crawled into her side of the bed and was already halfway asleep. The soft click from the door alerted her and she lazily shifted her arm from over her eyes to her forehead, a drowsy smile on her face. She had already slung her comforter off the bed, leaving just the sheets. In the summer, Ramona tended to sleep with just the sheets, if she decided to sleep with any at all. She was the kind of person to keep a room cold, considering we were both covered in fur, so winter was a preferred season for her.

I pulled myself onto the other side of the bed and groaned quietly, sore and exhausted from this evening and stressed from my thoughts. I turned over briefly, clicking my bedside light off and rolled back over, pulling a nearly asleep female close to me. With her back to my chest, I felt like she was secure, safe, and within reach incase something happened. I'd become a bit paranoid lately, but I wanted to take precaution. Clockwerk was constantly clouding my mind and if he some how came back, it would be a serious and horrifying matter. I gave her a light squeeze with my arm, kissed the crook of her neck, and eventually settled down to a deep sleep.

I jolted straight up in the bed, panting heavily with a cold sweat pouring down my face. It took a few minutes, but I eventually remembered where I really was and that everything I had thought just happened was only a dream. Once again I'd had a nightmare of my enemy. Only this time the image of the shadowy woman plagued my dreams and struck fear in my heart. I imagined myself standing in the streets with Ramona, simply looking out at the city and enjoying the night. Then she came along, spoiling the evening. She came out of nowhere, just popping up out of the shadows, and sauntering towards us; taunting us. I remembered she had some kind of weapon, but given my state of panic I was finding it hard to remember exactly what it was. Whatever the weapon was, I saw her use it. She used it and struck Ramona in the neck, making her drop almost instantly; leaving her at the doorstep of death if the first infliction hadn't done it already. Then I was chasing her, following her through alleys and across buildings and skylines. When I was ready to give up and turn back for Ramona, I was suddenly in the presence of my enemy. Clockwerk hovered over me, his eyes glowing and talons sharp. I awake in my cold sweat just as he swiped his talons towards me.

I was still sitting up when I reached over with my paw towards Ramona. My palm rested on her side, waiting to feel for the gentle rising and falling caused by her breathing. I sighed in relief when I felt that she was still breathing and it truly was all a dream. She shifted softly with my touch, flipping to her other side with an exhausted sigh then quickly falling back asleep. I watched her briefly, making sure she was asleep before I slowly and carefully slid out from under the covers. I stepped lightly in the bedroom until I reached the door, squeezing out of it without making it squeak. Ramona didn't like it when I got up out of bed after a nightmare to think it through. Her theory was to think of something happy and try to go back to sleep. I pulled my binoccucom out of my backpack and sat on the couch. I pulled up the photo of the woman I'd taken before I came here and stared at it. I studied the outline, burning it to my memory. Whoever she was, she was thin and lanky. From her tail she appeared to be a feline of sorts and probably very athletic. She had something attached to her hip; some sort of rope. It was too dark to really tell anything else about her, but it still made me wary about her.

When a small paw touched my shoulder and squeezed it lightly, I jumped halfway off the couch and flung my binoccucom across the room. I looked up, catching my breath when I realized it was only Ramona and not the other woman. She sat on the couch daintily, her paw moving from my shoulder to my back and up to the back of my head. Her fingers softly ran through my hair as she waited for me to either calm down or say something to her.

"Can I ask you something?" I asked her after a long moment of silence. It was obvious she knew I'd had another nightmare, so there was no need to get into why she'd followed me out here. She nodded before yawning, making it obvious to me that she got up out of concern and not for a midnight snack.

"What do you know about…bringing back someone to life?" her facial expression told me that she found my question both odd and completely out of the ordinary.

"Depends," she said after rubbing her eyes and waking up a little more, "with or without a body?"

"The latter." I said at I fell into the couch cushions, suddenly finding myself sleepy.

"Not much to it," she said as she did the same, "just find some old body parts, stitch them up in the same of a body, find yourself a voodoo priest or priestess, get them to do their job, wait a few minutes and boom, there's your now fully living and breathing previously dead person. Only catch is that usually the resurrected body is given some kind of trinket, maybe a necklace or a bracelet or a vial. These things are usually filled with some kind of enchantment; which keeps this person alive. You kill the trinket, you kill the person." Given the fact Ramona grew up near the Australian Outback, close to where Murray met his Dreamtime teacher, the Guru, she was well informed about the practices of the more mystical and unusual side of things.

"Why do you ask?" I shrugged, not really wanting to get into it at almost four in the morning.

"I'll tell you later." She nodded, standing up and heading back towards the bed. She motioned for me to come along and I did, actually looking forward to sleep.

Once we were settled in, Ramona curled up against me and easily slid back into her previous slumber. I held her to me, trying to relax long enough to join her. Before I could, however, I once again thought of the woman, now informed how she could be there if she was in fact someone who had died a while ago. With a shift from Ramona and a yawn from myself, I relaxed into the mattress. I kissed the top of her head one last time, lingering as I did so, before I slide my arm underneath my pillow and drifted off into a thankfully long, dreamless sleep.


End file.
